by David Jackson and Duane W. Gang, USA TODAY

by David Jackson and Duane W. Gang, USA TODAY

President Obama wrapped up a two-day post-State of the Union tour Thursday by pushing programs devoted to education and job training.

"High-quality early education is one of the best investments we can make in a child's life," Obama told students and faculty at a high school in Nashville, Tenn.

Earlier, during a visit to a General Electric plant near Milwaukee, Obama signed an executive order authorizing the review of all federal job-training programs, a project to be supervised by Vice President Biden.

Biden and his staff will also reach out to state and local governments for their ideas, Obama said in calling for a "soup to nuts" look at job training.

"Let's find what programs are working best, and let's duplicate them and expand them," Obama told employees at the General Electric plant in Waukesha, Wis.

In both Wisconsin and Tennessee, Obama echoed themes from Tuesday's State of the Union Address. He repeated that he wants to cooperate with Congress on the economy and other issues but is prepared to take executive action if necessary.

"I want to work with them, but I can't wait for them," Obama said in Wisconsin.

During his education remarks at Nashville's McGavock Comprehensive High School, Obama said that in the coming months he would ask businesses and philanthropists to help local governments provide more pre-kindergarten programs for children.

Other education projects include expanded broadband wireless access in the nation's classrooms and new partnerships between schools and local businesses that can teach students "real world skills," Obama said.

The president discussed the success of one student who studied film-making with one of Nashville's best-known companies, Country Music Television.

Critics of Obama who gathered outside to protest his appearance said the president should do more to promote "school choice," including vouchers that can help parents send their children to private schools if they want to.

"People who talk the most about being open-minded are the most close-minded about education," said Bryan Baskin, 50, of La Vergne, Tenn.

Gloria Carver, 51, of Jackson, Tenn., applauded Obama's agenda, saying that "he is going from the children to the elderly and he is seeking to make the changes he promised he would."

Obama visited McGavock Comprehensive High School just days after an off-campus killing of a 15-year-old student by a 17-year-old classmate.

The shooting has been a "test of people's spirits," Obama told students, but "you've been there for each other."

Before the speech, Obama met with the parents of the shooting victim.

Also in the crowd at Nashville: Local resident, former vice president and 2000 Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore.

Gore sat in a VIP section along with Democratic Reps. Jim Cooper of Nashville and Steve Cohen of Memphis, as well Nashville Mayor Karl Dean. Actress Ashley Judd sat a row behind Gore and said she got to chat briefly with the president before the program.

In the lead-up to the president's arrival, hundreds of people poured into the McGavock gym. Many sat on bleachers, while others stood in front of the podium where the president would give his remarks.

Behind the presidential lectern stood McGavock students who said they were members of the school's honor society. A loud roar erupted when Obama was introduced by McGavock student body president Ronald Elliott, who got a shout-out from the president for his bow tie.

Some in the crowd shouted "yes" in agreement and there was at least one call for "four more years." The crowd laughed when Obama, talking about how far young people can go with an education, joked that he didn't get his own plane until he was 47 years old.

Of course, Obama noted he'll eventually have to give back Air Force One -- "it's a rental."

At the plant in Waukesha, Obama praised the company for its training programs and said they can serve as a model for the nation. The idea, he said, is to train people for specific jobs that have emerged in the modern economy.

The nation needs "a job-driven approach to training," Obama said.

But as he talked about revamping job-training programs, Republicans said he is ignoring their own efforts.

House Republican leaders, in a letter to Obama, said Biden's task has already been performed by the Government Accountability Office (in January 2011). The GOP leaders said they have also passed a bill to consolidate and better target job-training programs, but it has been blocked by the Democratic-run Senate.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and other Republicans urged Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to schedule a vote on the issue, as well as "a meeting of the relevant parties so that we may resolve any differences that exist and send you a bill for your signature by the end of February."

Thursday's speeches wrapped up two days of travel for the president.

On Wednesday, the day after his annual State of the Union speech, Obama discussed proposals to raise the minimum wage and create a new kind of retirement savings account during appearances in Maryland and Pennsylvania.